Hunting Season for Healthcare Workers

Hiring hospital workers is getting tougher as physicians, nurses, and other clinical staff become more aware of their market value. In the meantime, potential sources of talent remain frustratingly out of reach.

As the economy slowly rebounds, healthcare workers are growing increasingly confident about their job prospects. With full implementation of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act on the 2014 horizon, human resource departments are taking a closer look at their recruiting strategies.

Hiring managers have their work cut out for them. Demand for healthcare workers is up and workers, knowing their market value is appreciating, are showing signs of willingness to engage with employers offering potentially more lucrative terms.

After a slight decline in Q1, 30% of healthcare workers in Q2 intend to search for new jobs this year, a six percent increase over the previous quarter, according to Randstad's quarterly healthcare employment trends report.

Despite financial strains on the industry, it's not a fear of a sinking ship that's sending employees out the door. Sixty-one percent remain confident in the stability of their current employer, while their confidence that they could find another job holds steady at 54%. A sluggish month of hospital job growth notwithstanding, workers see demand for their skills growing.

An alternative talent pool
The short supply of American physicians will only become more strained as healthcare reform is fully implemented and the insured patient population continues to expand.